Archive for January, 2008

The Washington Fyler

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Washington, DC
January 25, 2008
Fighting for Life in America: This past Tuesday, thousands of people journeyed to Washington to take part in the annual March for Life in commemoration of the babies killed in abortions. Tuesday was also the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Times  entitled “Life is Winning in America”:
Despite the best efforts of the pro-abortion movement to defend abortion on demand, more Americans embrace the sanctity of life than ever before. While more than 50 million innocent human lives have been ended by abortion since Roe v. Wade, abortions have declined by nearly 20 percent in the past fifteen years. That’s more than 881 lives saved per day—each a poignant reminder of why we can never relent in the defense of life.
Most of these children have not been saved by political action, but by the power of persuasion. Everyday, in crisis pregnancy centers and across kitchen tables, the truth about abortion is being told. Compassion is overcoming convenience, life is defeating despair, and hope is vanquishing a lifetime of regret.
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) welcomed the March for Life participants by issuing a statement telling the marchers that “the pro-life movement has saved countless lives over the past 35 years, and those participating in today’s March for Life should hold their heads high, knowing that their actions are having a positive and meaningful impact.”
President Bush, in anticipation of the March for Life, proclaimed Sunday, January 20, 2008 National Sanctity of Human Life Day. He stated in the proclamation, “We recognize that each life has inherent dignity and matchless value, and we reaffirm our steadfast determination to defend the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society.” President Bush also made his annual call to the participants of the march who rallied at the National Mall.
Politicians, religious leaders, papers, and magazines acknowledged the march, but America’s “paper of record,” The New York Times, did not contain even one reference to Tuesday’s event, the largest pro-life gathering in America.
Fighting for Marriage in Florida: Pro-family advocates in Florida are marshaling their forces as they race against the clock to obtain enough legal signatures to place a state constitutional marriage amendment on the 2008 ballot.
Florida Marriage Protection Amendment petitions garnered more than 611,000 signatures. Unfortunately, the Florida Division of Elections audited the signatures and discounted 30,000 of the petitions, rendering the petition effort 22,000 signatures short.
According to Mat Staver, the founder of Liberty Counsel, the various petition signatures must be counted each month by state law, “so it is absolutely critical that every pastor in the state of Florida, every person who has an e-mail in the state of Florida, distribute this petition to get this on the ballot,” urges Staver. “We’re asking every pastor in Florida to actually distribute a Florida Marriage Protection Amendment Petition to every person in the congregation.”
Staver is no stranger to the amendment effort in Florida. In 2006, he successfully defended the constitutionality of the marriage amendment language before the Florida Supreme Court. Staver states that if the petition drive fails to obtain the necessary signatures, it will be another two years before voters will have the opportunity to consider the amendment.
ACTION: The deadline for signatures on petitions is February 1, 2008. Those living in Florida can help gain signatures, and/or help deliver petitions. Please go to www.Florida4Marriage.org for more information.
Disconnect: The Barna Group released a survey this week that indicated there is a disconnect between the political concerns of evangelical Christians and those of the general American population. The researchers surveyed more than 2,000 adults last year concerning their attitudes about moral and social issues. David Kinnaman, president of Barna, stated that most Americans found the issues of “poverty, the personal debt that individual Americans carry, and HIV/AIDS” to be the top three issues.
However, evangelical Christians ranked their concerns differently, citing abortion, personal debt, and broadcast decency as their top three issues. Kinnaman also points out that there were differences in the rankings of issues among the broader evangelical community. The less overtly religious respondents had views more in keeping with the general non-evangelical public. 
“We found that the … illegal immigration 60 percent … followed by global warming at 57 percent, abortion 50 percent and the content of television and movies at 45 percent,” describes Kinnaman. “The least concerning of those issues was homosexuality, at 35 percent.”
Kinnaman believes evangelicals are more likely to be focused on the “character and quality and the type of culture” they live in, “not simply the laws or issues of environment.”
In addition, the Barna survey found that one in four Americans feels political involvement by conservative Christians is at the very least unwelcomed. “It’s something that we within the Christian community have to understand,” Kinnaman continues. “And rather than be defensive about , try to figure out, alright, at what points have there been things that we’ve done or said that maybe haven’t conveyed the heart of Christ in our political engagement?”
According to Barna’s research, only 64 million out of 224 million American adults claim to be born-again Christians, and about 15 million are evangelical.

January 26, 2008

4-6 Grade State-Wide Spelling Bee

January 22, 2008

Dear Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Grade Parents,

This letter is to remind you that our class will be participating in the Massachusetts Association of Christian Schools Spelling Bee on Friday, February 8.  We will be traveling to Lunenburg, MA for this event.  Because of the distance involved, we will have to leave the school parking lot by 6:30am.  We return by 5:30pm.  The only cost of this activity is the cost of a lunch.  We will take the students to a fast food restaurant (such as McDonalds) that afternoon.

In order to go, we do need you to sign a permission slip.  However, before I send the permission slip home, I wanted to make sure this arrangement is acceptable with all of our parents.  If there is a scheduling problem or any other problem regarding this event, please contact me as soon as possible.  You can reach me by phone at (50 8) 580-1400 or by e-mail at principal@nbc-sscs.org. 

Thank you.

Because of Grace,

Pastor Thompson


January 23, 2008

SSCS Events

• Today, January 18, is the last day of the second quarter.  All grades close today.  Tuesday will begin the third quarter of our school year.

• In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, there will be NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 21, 2008.

• All parents and friends are invited to attend our Awards Chapel on January 30, at 10:30am.

• In February, we will be having two spirit days.  On Friday, February 1, we will be having a football spirit day as we see our New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.  On Tuesday, February 5, we will be having a special patriotic, get-out-the-vote spirit day as we go to the polls on our Presidential primary date.   More details will be announced later.


January 23, 2008

The Washington Flyer

Washington, DC
January 18, 2008
Sanctity of Life Celebrated: This week on Capitol Hill, the pro-life group Teen Pact held a press conference in which they urged Congress to pass the Sanctity of Human Life bill. Freshmen Congressman Paul Broun (R-GA), a medical doctor, introduced the bill which states that life begins at fertilization, and the unborn have the constitutionally protected right to life. The bill has 39 cosponsors, including Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus.
The students in Teen Pact have come to Washington, D.C., from around the country in preparation for next week’s annual March for Life. The Teen Pact press conference had students from twenty states represented. Jason Bowman, a student who plans to become a medical doctor, noted, “In addition to the moral aspects of the pro-life debate, I really can’t help but notice the huge scientific support for life at conception.”
Bowman continued, “There’s really no way, if you look at the scientific evidence, to dispute the fact that those embryos are alive and well in the mother’s womb from conception onwards. That’s message that I’d like to get out: science supports the pro-life movement.”
“I realize that over a third of my generation—approximately 30 million children—have been aborted since Roe v. Wade back in the 70s. That really is amazing to consider; that’s more than we’ve lost in every single major U.S. war combined. Thirty-million of my co-workers, my fellow men are gone,” emphasized Bowman. “I think it really has a profound impact when you realize the magnitude of that.”
The March for Life will take place next Tuesday, January 22, on the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Sunday, January 20, is Sanctity of Life Sunday. Several pro-life organizations have put together resources for pastors and churches to assist them in emphasizing this important day.
For information from the Family Research Council, please go to www.watchmentevents.org. Rick Scarborough of Vision America has also compiled a resource packet, available here: http://www.abortionessay.com/files/packet.html.
Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders: Believing that Christian young people have a role to play in the public square, Ned Ryun, president of the Madison Youth Project (MYP),  formed the MYP in an effort to provide resources and training for young people interested in their civic duties.
The mission of MYP is stated as follows: “To promote conservative ideals, to raise up a generation prepared and positioned to lead tomorrow, and to elect candidates today who share this vision. We are pro-family, pro-life and pro-growth.” Built on Judeo-Christian principles, the MYP programs will be directed towards Christian youth who attend private religious schools or who are home schooled.
The opportunities and resources available through the MYP include distance learning courses, student clubs, an annual model congress, and other educational resources available online. This January, the first two distances learning courses will be launched:
  • “The Elements of Freedom” – Taught by Robert D. Stacey of Regent University, this course will focus on the freedoms that are vital to a strong society and democracy.
  • “Founding Fathers and Founding Documents” – Taught by Dr. Erik S. Root of West Liberty State College, this course will focus on the words of our founding fathers and their beliefs about man, nature, God, and government.
If interested in learning more about the MYP or to sign up for these courses, Click Here.
American Christianity? LifeWay Research has released a new study this week which shows that many “unchurched” Americans are open to discussing religion with people but have negative attitudes toward traditional churches.
LifeWay polled 1,400 adults who said they had not attended a church or religious service in the past six months. Seventy-two percent of these adults said they believed in God, but only 48 percent said that God is how He is described in the Bible. Sixty-one percent believe that the God of Christianity is also the God of Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism.
Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, was not surprised by the responses and sees them as indicative of the “Oprah-ization” of American Christianity. “And when you start drilling down to further it’s the ‘God of the Bible’ [they’ll say] they believe in God—and that’s that generic, ‘big guy in the sky’ kind of view,” he says. “But when you start talking about there exists only one God, the God described in the Bible, the agree and the disagree begin to split.”
The people polled were also asked how they perceived the church. Sixty-four percent said Christianity is a “relevant and viable religion for today,” but 79 percent believe Christianity is more about organized religion than about loving God and loving people.
Seventy-two percent said the church consists of hypocrites, and 86 percent believe they can have a relationship with God without attending church.
Stetzer concludes that many Christians have been effective at talking about their faith with the unbelievers but have perhaps “overplayed the program and underplayed the relationship.”
The study also found that 89 percent of those polled have friends who are Christians, and 78 percent said they would listen to someone who wanted to share what they believed about Christianity.
The Washington Flyer Staff Writer: Jennifer Groover
The Washington Flyer Editor: Maureen Wiebe

January 18, 2008

Adult English Club

Free ESL Classes*
Free Child Care Provided While in Class

“At Work in the U.S.”
English for Job Success

EVENING CLASSES
Wednesdays 6:30 – 8:00p.m.

REGISTRATION & ORIENTATION

January 16, 2008 at 6:30p.m.

South Shore Christian School
899 North Main Street
Brockton, MA  02301
(50 8) 580-1400

This class is open to the public as such classes are in high demand. Space is limited. However, we do want to give our SSCS parents first priority. If you would like to participate, please contact the scholl office at (50 8) 580-1400. This class is first come, first serve, so contact us right away!

*The only cost involved is the cost of the materials (Book and CD - $25 each).  These may be purchased at registration.


January 15, 2008

School Cancelation - No School Today

Because of the snow, All school is canceled today - Monday, January 14, 2008.


January 14, 2008

The Washington Flyer

AACS Header
Washington, DC
January 4, 2008
Controversy in California: This past October, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) signed SB 777, a significant pro-homosexual education bill, into law. Critics say that it is perhaps the most “devastating” anti-family bill ever passed by the California legislature and signed into law.
The bill requires both public and non-religious private schools to treat homosexuality and heterosexuality “equally.” Under this requirement, teaching students about the benefits of traditional families will be considered discrimination; simple toleration in schools will not be sufficient for a school to be in accordance with the law.
The passage of the legislation is already having its effect on the children of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Schools in the district are allowing boys to use girls restrooms and vice versa. They are also allowing students to choose which gender they wish to be known as. District supervisors have instructed teachers to refer to students by the appropriate pronoun depending on the chosen gender. Teachers have also been told that they are not to tell the parents about the student’s chosen gender.
A coalition of parents and family activists has decried the law and its impact on California school children. They want to stop the law from going into effect; they are presently in the process of collecting signatures to place a referendum on the November 2008 ballot that would overturn the law. The coalition, Save Our Kids, must collect 434,000 signatures by January 10.
ACTION: Those living in California can click here –  Save Our Kids – for additional information on how to help collect signatures for the petition to fight this dangerous bill.
Hailing the Halt in Oregon: Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman issued a stay blocking Oregon’s recently passed domestic partnership law for homosexuals that was to go into effect next week. Mosman justified his decision by contending that opponents to the law should have an opportunity to make their case to their fellow Oregonians.
The ruling came as a surprise to both opponents and proponents of the law. Homosexual activists had planned to show up at county offices across Oregon on Wednesday to register their partnerships so they can obtain the benefits of the domestic partnership law.  Mosman’s decision placed at least a temporary halt to the plans of these homosexual couples.
On February 1, 2008, Mosman will hear a lawsuit brought by opponents to the domestic partnership law who are challenging the methods the county clerks used to verify the legitimacy of the thousands of signatures they needed to place the measure that will overturn the law on the ballot. Family activists gathered thousands of signatures over the 55, 179 signatures required to meet the ballot requirements; however, the opponents claim they fell 96 short.
According to Judge Mosman, attorneys for the opponents adequately demonstrated that the rights of voters may have been violated if their signatures were wrongly rejected. The Judge’s unexpected decision has no effect on another recent Oregon law banning discrimination against homosexuals in the areas of work, housing, and presence in public places. The laws in tandem represent the largest advance for homosexual activists in Oregon state history. Oregon is now one of 10 states with similar domestic partnership laws.  
Presidential Follow-Through: A few years ago, the U.S. Mint made the decision to move the phrase “In God We Trust” to the edgeof the $1 coin. The officials from the U.S. Mint claimed at the time that their decision would actually draw attention to the motto. However, critics of the decision, like the Family Research Council (FRC) disagreed with the decision. FRC pointed out on its website that removing “In God We Trust” “off the face of our coins was just one step toward removing it altogether.”
In 2005, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) sponsored a bill to restore the motto to prominence on the front or back of the coin. Last Wednesday, President Bush signed Brownback’s most recently introduced version into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008.
FRC has used the opportunity to thank the President but also to encourage him to “turn his attention to how those dollars are spent.” This week, FRC, along with dozens of other pro-life organizations, sent a letter to the White House asking the Administration to  reverse the regulations from the Clinton-era, which allow Title X family planning funds to be used by abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood. Both Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush prohibited Title X recipients from providing family planning services and abortion services in conjunction. Sadly, current law allows abortion clinics to share the same waiting rooms, staff, and utilities with their affiliated Title X family planning clinics.
FRC concludes its comments on its website with a plea for President Bush to “make the necessary changes to the Title X regulations and stop our hard-earned tax-dollars from promoting and facilitating abortion.”
-The Washington Flyer Staff Writer: Jennifer Groover
-The Washington Flyer Editor: Maureen Wiebe

January 4, 2008

Welcome Back

South Shore Christian School is once again in session.  Our Christmas vacation is now over and all classes resume today, January 2, 2008.


January 2, 2008

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